Are you Oversubscribed?

New items might struggle to gain traction in today’s consumer markets, which are swamped with countless possibilities. This is when the term “oversubscription” comes into play. Rather of competing with giants, you must carve out your own market and build a dedicated customer base that will demand every product you provide – to the point where demand will exceed supply and you will become oversubscribed!

There are many various strategies to make your brand stand out, from focusing on innovation to maintaining excellent customer connections. Daniel Priestley’s book, Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining Up to Do Business with You, examines how some brands have stayed ahead of the competition and, of course, how you might follow in their footsteps.

Every year, there will be some pricey new gadget or equipment that people don’t actually need but yet want. There’s nothing surprising about this because it all boils down to scarcity and popularity: if everyone else has something, you’ll want it as well. When something is so popular that it is difficult to obtain, it becomes extremely desirable.

You may have learnt the principles of supply and demand in elementary school, but the rules of demand and supply are now the key to success. A firm becomes oversubscribed when there is more demand and buyers than there are products and supply. This may appear to be a negative, yet it is actually a positive. It is, without a doubt, a potent technique of profit generation.

The iPhone is one of the best examples. Whenever Apple announces a new phone, it is almost always sold out before it even goes on sale. This is no longer an issue for Apple. They want people to witness long lines of iPhone fans waiting for days to be among the first to get the new model.

It’s a no-cost promotion that demonstrates the enormous demand. Demand, on the other hand, might fluctuate over time. Even as businesses like as Samsung become more competitive, Apple’s iPhone must remain desired.

Knowing how to adapt to a market that becomes inundated with identical products once there is a clear need is one of the most difficult aspects of staying overcrowded. Plastic surgery was an oversubscribed business in the 1980s, with only a few surgeons able to charge exorbitant costs while still being completely booked. However, when more doctors joined, rates had to be drastically decreased in order to stay competitive.

Carving off your own niche market with devoted consumers is a terrific approach to stay oversubscribed. The manufacturers of Dom Pérignon champagne, Moet & Chandon, are a fantastic example. Despite the fact that there are many different types of champagne, Moet & Chandon has managed to create a luxury brand that is recognized as the best of the best. Customers who want to make an impression know where to go.

Finding a niche market, like inventing a popular new product, is easier said than done. Nonetheless, coming up with a truly new and distinctive product is one of the finest methods to start an oversubscribed business.

When you’re truly distinctive and imaginative, there’s no competition, which is exactly what happened when the iPod was released. There was no market for the iPod before it was released since no one else had ever developed a user-friendly, well-designed MP3 player. So there was no competition when the iPod was released in 2002; it had the entire market to itself.

When competition does emerge, you can ensure that your consumers continue with you by forming strong bonds with them. Contracts are a traditional, yet reliable, manner of accomplishing this.

When looking for a phone carrier, for example, you look at a lot of options and compare each plan thoroughly. Once you choose a carrier and sign a contract, say for 24 months, you are locked into that connection and the others become irrelevant.

Making a more convenient version of something that already exists is another road to oversubscription. Amazon, the online one-stop shopping store that has everything under one roof, is a typical illustration of this.

With just one click, anyone with an internet connection can browse their seemingly boundless marketplace, read user reviews, and buy everything from tires to baby toys. This level of ease is difficult to match for competitors like Woolworths or K-Mart.

Providing the less expensive option is a third technique to promote oversubscription. You can follow UNIQLO’s approach for a successful example of this. By striking exclusive relationships with suppliers, this worldwide apparel company was able to sell high-quality garments at a low price. This enables it to purchase fabrics at wholesale rates and pass the savings on to customers.

Which sounds more appealing to you: a book that all of your friends are reading and enjoying, or a book that is continually advertised on television, in movies, on the metro, and online? People are more likely to respond favourably to things that aren’t forcefully marketed to them.

Consider the street vendors who spend the entire day yelling at passers-by about how cheap their wares are. Have you bought something from any of these street vendors? Consider Gallery Lafayette, a high-end boutique in Paris that doesn’t have to waste time or money on aggressive advertising.

An exclusive Chanel counter is located at this store, where one customer at a time can purchase the most recent handbag. Naturally, there is always a huge queue, but individuals are willing to stand in it for the chance to receive special treatment at the counter.

Offering this type of personalized, one-on-one service can make consumers feel unique, which is another effective approach to gain repeat business. The enormous queue at Gallery Lafayette not only demonstrates the store’s success; it also builds excitement and makes visitors inquisitive about the personalized attention that comes with waiting in line. If someone has never had it before, they will continue to imagine what it’s like to receive one-on-one attention until they become a customer.

When you deliver a positive client experience, you may utilize a questionnaire to collect customer stories to use as testimonials, which can help you expand your customer base even more.

Asking your consumers the correct questions, such as: How did our products or service improve your life, is a terrific approach to do this. Once you have a narrative, you can share it on social media with potential clients or even get a satisfied customer to agree to a YouTube video. Others will race to be the next in line once they hear the story.

Check out my related post: Do you inspire collaboration in the organization?

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Interesting reads:

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25305548-oversubscribed